- Ph.D., Clinical, Applied, Experimental Oncology and Tumor Morphology, University of Palermo, Italy
- M.S., Biological Science, University of Palermo, Italy
Education & Training
1) L Zhang#, S Cascio#, C Adams, J W Mellors, R J Buckanovich, H U Osmanbeyoglu. Singlecell analysis reveals the stromal dynamics and tumor-specific characteristics in the microenvironment of ovarian cancer. (#Contributed equally). Communications Biology; 2024 Jan 5;7(1):20. doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-05733-x.
2) Cascio S, Chandler C, Zhang L, Sinno S, Gao B, Onkar S, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA, Mahdi H, Osmanbeyoglu HU, Vlad AM, Coffman LG, Buckanovich RJ. Cancer-associated MSC drive tumor immune exclusion and resistance to immunotherapy, which can be overcome by Hedgehog inhibition. Sci Adv. 2021 Nov 12;7(46):eabi5790. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abi5790. Epub 2021 Nov 12. PMID: 34767446
3) Kvorjak M, Ahmed Y, Miller LM, Sriram R, Coronello C, Hashash GJ, Hartman JD, Telmer AC, Miskov-Zinavov N, Finn JO and Cascio S. Crosstalk between Colon Cells and Macrophages Increases ST6GALNAC1 and MUC1-sTn Expression in Ulcerative Colitis and Colitis-Associated Colon Cancer. Cancer Immunology Research. 2020 Feb;8(2):167-178. doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.
4) Cascio S, Faylo JL, Sciurba JC, Xu J, Ranganathan S, Lohmueller JJ, Beatty PL and Finn OJ. Abnormally glycosylated MUC1 establishes a positive feedback circuit of inflammatory cytokines, mediated by NF-kB p65 and EzH2, in colitis-associated cancer. Oncotarget. 2017 https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.22168
5) Cascio S, Medsger TA Jr, Hawse WF, Watkins SC, Milcarek C, Moreland LW, Lafyatis RA, Fuschiotti P. 14-3-3z sequesters cytosolic T-bet, up-regulating IL-13 in Tc2 and scleroderma CD8+ lymphocytes. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2017 Nov 15. pii: S0091-6749(17)31760-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.10.029
My laboratory investigates the intercellular communications between stroma, tumor cells and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment. I am particularly focused on gaining a better understanding of how factors, secreted by stromal and tumor cells, modulate the immunosuppressive activities of tumor-associated myeloid cells, driving resistance to immunotherapies. Using mouse models of ovarian cancer and clinical samples, my long-term goal is to identify novel therapeutical approaches to enhance anti-tumor immunity.